It's great to see you here today at the Disney Parks Moms Panel, Paige!
Dining is probably my absolute favorite thing to do at Walt Disney World Resort, so I definitely understand the importance of securing those all-important advanced dining reservation. While there isn't really a way to guarantee a reservation at your favorite restaurants, there are a few things that I recommend doing to increase the odds of getting what you want.
You've been watching, so you know that there are some really popular restaurants that book up really quickly, sometimes within hours of being open for reservations. These include places like
Be Our Guest Restaurant and
Cinderella's Royal Table at
Magic Kingdom Park, pretty much any
Character Dining location, and dinner at restaurants with a view of a fireworks show, like
California Grill at
Disney's Contemporary Resort. If you want to have a meal at any of these places, I recommend scheduling them as close to the end of your vacation as possible because the fewest amount of guests have had the opportunity to book reservations on those days. When you're making your bookings using the
My Disney Experience app at 6 a.m. (Eastern Time), 180 days before your arrival date, don't make your reservations in chronological order, make them in order from most important to least important. For example, if Be Our Guest Restaurant or Cinderella's Royal Table is a priority for your vacation, plan it for one of the last days of your vacation but make it one of the first reservations you make.
If, after all that, you're not able to snag a reservation on the first day that they open for your vacation, there's no need to worry just yet. 180 days is a lot of time for guests to change their mind and decide they'd like to eat somewhere else. I recommend checking My Disney Experience in the months and weeks leading up to your trip to see if any spots have opened up. Be flexible about the time you want to dine at, and have a backup plan in mind. Every time I've been to Walt Disney World, I've lucked out and been able to get the reservations my family wanted by being patient and continuing to check back. I hope it works out for you the same way!
Have a magical day, Paige!
Jessica